Marvin Bagley III, the No. 2 pick of the 2018 draft, has bounced around the league in recent years. He had one of his best games in years for the Mavericks in a 100-93 win over the Trail Blazers on Friday.
Bagley scored 26 points, his biggest output since the 2022/23 season.
“He was being dominant,” P.J. Washington told Grant Afseth of the Dallas Hoops Journal. “We were finding him and giving him the ball and just letting him do him. He’s scoring at a high level in the paint. He’s just a mismatch nightmare for them tonight. When he’s in the pick-and-roll, it’s good for us. If we hit him in the pocket, he can make plays, he can pass, he can score.”
Bagley, traded by the Wizards to Dallas last month, will be an unrestricted free agent after the season.
Here’s more from the Southwest Division:
- In the same game, Cooper Flagg continued his push for the Rookie of the Year award. He had 24 points. Mavericks coach Jason Kidd told the Dallas Morning News’ Brad Townsend that Flagg’s candidacy should be a priority for the organization. “Yeah, I think it’s a big priority that the organization pays attention to this. But it’s not just the organization,” Kidd said. “This is a partnership, and Cooper has to be able to do his part. And he’s doing his part. He’s having a historic year as a rookie. When you put his numbers up against past rookies who have won the award, it’s clear-cut that it’s not even close that he is the one that will win Rookie of the Year.”
- Grizzlies forward GG Jackson II is exasperated that stars like Kevin Durant get calls that other players don’t. “It’s unbelievable how the refs can suck up to somebody,” Jackson said, per the Associated Press. “He’s the GOAT, so I respect that, but as far as us other guys, we bust our [tails] like he does.” Durant didn’t have an inordinate amount of free throws in the Rockets’ 10-point win on Friday. He went to the line seven times while scoring 25 points.
- While the Spurs’ general lack of playoff experience might make it seem unlikely that they’d win the championship this season, there’s growing sentiment around the league that they can overcome that. ESPN’s Tim Bontemps and Brian Windhorst quote several sources who believe San Antonio will wind up as champions.